1:Seeing Red
by Pip the Bat
Summary: A robot learns to cope with her new life ... just not very well. :-)


Seeing Red
    
    by Pip the Bat
    
     
    
    'All good things come to an end.'
    
     
    
    Sonic, Tails and related characters are copyright to Sega and
    
    Archie Comics. Pip [Mecha Bot VI] is copyright to me, Pip the
    
    Bat. Slasher is copyright to NetRaptor. Used with permission. 
    
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    
     
    
    While on a stroll in the Great Forest, I had accidentally
    
    strayed across a pack of werewolves. They were having one of 
    
    their leadership fights, right there in the clearing. A really 
    
    old grey haired creature versus a much younger and stronger one, 
    
    meaner too, with glinting yellow eyes. It was absolutely no 
    
    competition; the younger one was meeting no resistance as he 
    
    laid into the original leader.
    
    They hadn't seen me, and they wouldn't have at all if I'd 
    
    had the sense just to slip away quietly. But I couldn't go 
    
    knowing that the old one was going to be well and truly mauled 
    
    so instead I raced towards the combatants, yelling at them to 
    
    stop. The young werewolf hurled the other one way across the 
    
    clearing before turning and bearing his fangs at me. It suddenly 
    
    occurred to me that what I'd just done might not have been such 
    
    a good idea, but it was too late to back out of it.
    
    He paced forward before leaping, snarling. I'm pretty sure 
    
    that I'd have been able to beat him if it had just been him and 
    
    me, but a second later, the whole of the pack poured in to assist 
    
    him. I suppose the first few moments of the fight were the worst. 
    
    After that I could still feel the sharp pain of claws tearing 
    
    into me, but it seemed deadened, far away, as if I'd got past 
    
    that stage. It didn't last for long though. The last thing I 
    
    remembered before both the woodland floor and darkness came up 
    
    to meet me was the flash of teeth and claws and the triumphant 
    
    howls of the werewolves.
    
     
    
    ***
    
     
    
    I came to surrounded by what looked like half of Knothole; 
    
    Slasher, Sonic, Sally, Tails and Rotor standing closest to me. 
    
    It wasn't like normal awakenings either, no blurred, coming 
    
    into focus moments, just a straightforward snap into reality. 
    
    Another unusual thing was that I was upright, with my arms and 
    
    legs strapped to the wall too.
    
    Wonder what the date is? I thought to myself, trying to 
    
    speculate how long I'd been unconscious. The date suddenly 
    
    popped into my head. Weird. How could I have known that? Still, 
    
    I shook aside my puzzlement and worked it out. I'd been 
    
    unconscious for more than a month. That didn't make much sense 
    
    either; it was a seriously long time to be out of it for.
    
    "Uh, hi," I said. My voice sounded a little weird. As 
    
    soon as I noticed that, I also heard a steady hum in the 
    
    background, like the kind you get from a computer or robot. 
    
    Sally must have got Nicole with her.
    
    Everyone was silent still, some of them looking at me 
    
    a touch nervously. What was up with them? Did they want me 
    
    to say something else?
    
    "Jeez, I really didn't think I was going to survive that. 
    
    Not after the whole bunch of them jumped me."
    
    Sonic shook his head, looking half upset, half 
    
    apprehensive. "You... didn't."
    
    Something in the back of my head half understood this, 
    
    but the rest of me certainly didn't. "Come again?"
    
    Slasher stepped forward. It was a relief to see her. 
    
    She could explain what was going on, and sort it out too if 
    
    needs be. She always did. "After you didn't come back, I set 
    
    out to look for you. You were torn up pretty bad when I found 
    
    you. There was no one in sight but I thought I could smell 
    
    wolves in the vicinity so I guessed that it was them who'd 
    
    attacked you.
    
    "Anyway, I took you back to Knothole. It turned out 
    
    that your injuries were even worse than I'd thought at first. 
    
    Fatally bad, there was no chance of you pulling through. 
    
    Luckily, Rotor's been trying out some new technology... robot 
    
    technology. He found that there was one way we could save 
    
    you. Using some new equipment of his, he managed to 
    
    incorporate you; your personality, self, mind and everything 
    
    into a bunch of special chips. He used up almost all of his 
    
    equipment in the process so he'd never be able to do it or 
    
    anything like it again. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
    
    "Thanks," I managed. It was just about all I could 
    
    think of to say. "But I don't really see how that would help 
    
    me." In my mind, I think I already knew the answer, but there 
    
    was no way I was going to accept it before I heard Slasher 
    
    say it to be true.
    
    "After he'd done that, Rotor set to work on creating 
    
    a... shell to house you in. He made it to look almost exactly 
    
    like the real you, with several modifications and changes. 
    
    After a while he finished, and we've activated you. You're 
    
    now a Mecha bot, Pip."
    
    "No," I whispered, so softly that I doubt anyone 
    
    heard it. So that was it. I was now a robot, and a Mecha 
    
    bot too, to crown it all. At least it explained all the 
    
    weird things I'd noticed. I guess it was kind of Slasher, 
    
    Rotor and the others to do all that for me, but as not 
    
    knowing what to say, I found that I didn't even know what 
    
    to think anymore. Since it was one of those both good and 
    
    bad things, it made it really hard.
    
    Luckily, Slasher seemed to understand. "I'll give 
    
    you time to think over it all," she told me, managing to 
    
    give me a comforting smile while shepherding the others 
    
    out at the same time. Sonic, Tails and all the ones who 
    
    knew me really well also gave me encouraging grins on the 
    
    way out. When they'd gone, Slasher came over and unlocked 
    
    the straps. I wondered what they thought I was going to 
    
    do to them that required strapping me down, but I didn't 
    
    ask. "Come on out when you feel up to it," she said, and 
    
    left.
    
    I knelt down on the floor, wondering if I still 
    
    remembered how to do everything, and what other new things 
    
    I could do, apart from telling the time and date. That 
    
    could wait though. For a while I sat and thought the whole 
    
    thing over, trying to come to terms with it. Eventually, I 
    
    got up and walked, a little unsteadily, outside.
    
     
    
    ***
    
     
    
    It was about two days later and a few people had got 
    
    used to the fact that I was now a robot. I was just one of 
    
    the many interesting sights of the village. The problem was 
    
    that I was having trouble with it. I just couldn't seem to 
    
    get used to the idea myself. This was mainly because everyone 
    
    was being kind and sympathetic towards me which, far from 
    
    being comforting, had a negative effect on me. I was 
    
    practically longing for someone to get cross or yell at me.
    
    And I'd noticed another new thing about me; I was 
    
    nastier somehow and when people spoke to me I made sharper, 
    
    cruller remarks. I was also getting more than a little 
    
    depressed, but I think that was more to do with me personally 
    
    than my new robotic feelings.
    
    Anyway, I was alone in Rotor's workshop, sometime 
    
    in the evening, two days after I was... activated. My 
    
    depression had got to about its worst level and I was 
    
    feeling really bad. Quickly checking that there was no one 
    
    in sight, I opened the nearest toolbox and got out the 
    
    equipment it contained. Picking up one of the screwdrivers 
    
    and opening a compartment in my chest, I tried to see if 
    
    I could unscrew any vital parts.
    
    Just as I was doing so however, Tails poked his 
    
    head round the door. Seeing me, he came in and leaned 
    
    against one of the cluttered tables, which reminded me 
    
    of the inside of my head.
    
    "I wouldn't do that," he said, looking helpful. 
    
    "You might deactivate yourself."
    
    I sighed. "That's the whole... oh never mind." 
    
    I dropped the screwdriver on the table. "What do you 
    
    want?" I added, ungraciously.
    
    "I wanted to know why you've been avoiding me."
    
    He looked hurt. It was true, I had been avoiding 
    
    him. I just didn't realise he'd noticed. I gave him the 
    
    real reason. There was no point in not telling him. "I 
    
    thought you wouldn't want to see me."
    
    "I'm your brother. Why wouldn't I wanna see you?"
    
    "I... dunno. It's because of that I suppose. I thought 
    
    you wouldn't want to know me now I'm a robot. And I wouldn't 
    
    blame you. I've been feeling a little weird recently. I've 
    
    been feeling like I'm, well evil."
    
    "Then maybe that's how the others feel. The other 
    
    Mecha bots. It could be in the programming or whatever."
    
    "Yes," I said, grinning for the first time since I'd 
    
    become a robot. "Go into world. Be evil. Kill people. Maul 
    
    people. And while you're at it, totally annihilate the 
    
    others." We both laughed at this.
    
    "I'm going for dinner," he said, after a more 
    
    comfortable pause. "Wanna come?"
    
    "Okay then. I'll just be a minute. See you there." 
    
    He waved and headed out the door. I thought about continuing 
    
    with my attempt to wreck myself, but I suddenly found that 
    
    I didn't want to anymore. I began to pick the tools up one 
    
    by one and put them back into the box. As I dropped the last 
    
    one in and shut the lid, I heard a voice behind me.
    
    "Good idea." I pivoted round to see Slasher standing 
    
    there. I realised with a slight flash of guilt that she must 
    
    have seen me with the screwdriver, trying to destroy myself. 
    
    Still, she seemed more pleased than upset, probably because 
    
    I'd decided against it. "You may not think it now, but it 
    
    is for the best." I nodded, slowly. Grinning a little, she 
    
    added: "And you've obviously been keeping control of your 
    
    feelings. Well done."
    
    I felt a little proud at this. "Thank you. I haven't 
    
    really been socialising much though. I'll keep trying to 
    
    control myself." I slipped past her out the door and we 
    
    walked over to the area where some of the others had set 
    
    up a campfire, determined not to let myself succumb to 
    
    my new, eviler side.
    
     
    
    ***
    
     
    
    It was kind of ironic that, when I was actually 
    
    trying to be on my best behaviour that I succeeded in 
    
    getting into a fight. I was sitting with Sonic and Tails, 
    
    trying to ignore the fact that they were eating, something 
    
    I could not do anymore. I was also trying to ignore what 
    
    they were eating, since when I could eat, I had been a 
    
    total vegetarian, no gelatine filled sweets even.
    
    We talked a little, but I was more comfortable talking 
    
    with Tails than with Sonic. Maybe it was because Tails was 
    
    my brother or maybe it was just that he understood me 
    
    better, I don't know. Anyway, Sonic was trying not to look 
    
    me in the eye. I suppose this was because he was unsure 
    
    about how to treat me, but it didn't come across like that 
    
    at the time.
    
    "You could at least look at me, Sonic," I snapped, 
    
    after a while of this. "Or are you afraid I'm going to 
    
    kill you just by staring you in the eye?"
    
    "No," he answered, glaring at me. "Of course not."
    
    "You've got more guts than I gave you credit for, 
    
    then. I thought you were just being a spineless wimp but 
    
    now I know you're just a wimp." This sounded nasty, even 
    
    to me, so I tried to smooth it over. "Sorry," I added. 
    
    "Ignore me. I didn't mean it."
    
    Sonic didn't answer directly. "Hey, Tails," he said, 
    
    a few seconds later. "I bet Knuckles is having a bunch of 
    
    grapes right now. What do you think?"
    
    My fists clenched. So he obviously hadn't forgiven me. 
    
    And he knew just what to say to hit me hard. "I said I'm 
    
    sorry," I told him angrily. "Can't you just leave it?"
    
    Sonic continued as if he hadn't heard me. "He might 
    
    even be having an apple. Would you like an apple Pip? Oh I'm 
    
    sorry I forgot, you can't can you?"
    
    "Leave it," I growled. That was my last warning to 
    
    him. I could see that Tails was looking worried. With good 
    
    reason. Sonic was rapidly approaching a high danger zone. 
    
    The next thing he said totally clinched the matter.
    
    "I'm sure Ringo would just love to see you like that. 
    
    After all, you practically joined her, didn't you?" 
    
    Immediately the words were out of his mouth, I saw genuine 
    
    regret fill his eyes. "I'm sorry Pip. I don't know what 
    
    came over me. I've been a little stressed out recently 
    
    and had some late nights on top of that. Then when you 
    
    called me a wimp I guess I sorta snapped. I really, 
    
    really didn't mean it. You know that don't you?"
    
    Yes. Maybe I did. But not then. I could probably 
    
    have ignored more food jibes, but he had touched a sore 
    
    point with his last remark.
    
    I'd never told the full story, not to Sonic or 
    
    anyone, only a little vaguely to Tails once, but Sonic 
    
    did know a bit of it. And it had never been proved 
    
    that Ringo had died.
    
    Ringo, a zebra, and her friends had sheltered me 
    
    when I had had managed to escape from captivity under 
    
    Metra, my robot tormentor, a werewolf Mecha bot. I 
    
    hadn't told them about Metra or anything about him, a 
    
    little out of hard found loyalty but mostly because I 
    
    was afraid they wouldn't like me anymore and they'd got 
    
    some problems of their own at the time.
    
    They were nice, looking after me and letting me 
    
    stay in their village. After many years, I had actually 
    
    found somebody who cared for me. Ringo had promised to 
    
    become my official guardian after they had sorted out 
    
    their problems. But before that happened, Metra and his 
    
    robots tracked me down.
    
    I think Metra had thought that I was going to go 
    
    and tell all his secrets or whatever to everyone, I 
    
    don't know. I just know that one night they turned 
    
    up, torching the village and massacring its occupants. 
    
    I think a few of them managed to escape, I'm not sure. 
    
    I just hope Ringo was among them.
    
    Whenever I think of it, it always seems more and 
    
    more like my fault. If I'd told them, if I'd warned 
    
    them they could have been prepared for something like 
    
    that. But I hadn't thought he'd... I suppose the worst 
    
    thing of not telling them was that they thought that 
    
    I'd planned it all. The last I saw of Ringo, she gave 
    
    me a contemptuous glare before the flames hid her from view.
    
    I would have helped defend the place, but a whole 
    
    squadron of robots was stationed to stop me, two keeping 
    
    a hold on my arms while the others stood around me. I was 
    
    forced to watch the whole thing. I've never been able to 
    
    rid myself of the scenes and I had nightmares of them when 
    
    I... wasn't a robot. I generally keep way on top of them, 
    
    but whenever I get upset, scared or lonely they return. Or 
    
    when some jerk can't keep his mouth shut.
    
    Anyway, I was practically livid with rage and nothing 
    
    Sonic said was going to change that. "Don't talk about 
    
    things you don't understand," I hissed, in a deadly tone 
    
    of voice, getting to my feet. Before I even realised what 
    
    I was doing, I had leapt at him, bowling him right over 
    
    and pinning him to the ground.
    
    I didn't give Sonic so much as a chance to hit back 
    
    as I attacked him. Several people tried to stop me, but I 
    
    just lashed out at them with my feet, kicking them away. 
    
    Tails was yelling at me to stop, reminding me strongly of 
    
    something, although I couldn't quite place it. I was only 
    
    stopped when Slasher arrived on the scene and knocked me 
    
    several yards away from Sonic with one wing.
    
    The fight had only lasted a few seconds, but I was 
    
    pleased to note that Sonic was limping on one foot when 
    
    Slasher helped him to his feet, and he had a long jagged
    
    cut down the side of his face.
    
    I didn't bother to get up from where I lay. I'd just 
    
    realised what Tails had reminded me of. Me. When I had 
    
    tried to stop the werewolf battle, trying to prevent the 
    
    stronger one from killing the other, for what seemed to 
    
    me like no good reason. The memory of the young one 
    
    hurling the old one across the clearing came back to me, 
    
    and I looked across at Sonic. I could imagine me having 
    
    done that, if Slasher hadn't stopped me. How could I, 
    
    after Slasher had gone and said how well I was doing, too?
    
    I picked myself up, slowly, to show that I wasn't 
    
    about to go and rip Sonic's head off and followed 
    
    Slasher, who had indicated for me to do so. Sonic limped 
    
    after us for some way, but Tails caught his arm and 
    
    held him back. From the look on Sonic's face, I think 
    
    he was going to explain to Slasher that I'd been provoked, 
    
    but I was glad that Tails had stopped him.
    
    Slasher stopped, at a point well away from the 
    
    others. She then turned to me. She didn't say anything, 
    
    but the silence was much, much worse. "I'm sorry," I 
    
    said, my head bowed in shame. "I know I shouldn't have 
    
    attacked Sonic. I just let myself go, and..." I stopped.
    
    "You found what it was like to be more like the 
    
    robot you've become," she finished for me. I nodded, 
    
    wordlessly, still staring ashamedly at the ground. She 
    
    gazed at me for a moment longer, before saying: "All 
    
    right then."
    
    I stared at her then. "What? That's it? I thought 
    
    I'd be punished."
    
    "I think the other villagers will be punishment 
    
    enough," she answered. I thanked her and left, wondering 
    
    what she could have meant. Since I went straight back to 
    
    Rotor's tool shed for the night, I didn't find out the 
    
    answer until the morning.
    
     
    
    ***
    
     
    
    When I went around the village the next day, 
    
    everybody either avoided me or sneered outright. 
    
    Only Tails didn't. I'm not sure which Sonic would 
    
    have done, although I suspect he might have sided 
    
    with Tails, as he was getting his wounds seen to.
    
    I tried to ignore the villagers, save Tails, 
    
    amusing myself by trying out some of my new skills. 
    
    One of my favourites was the scanner, which allowed 
    
    me to detect all the things in the immediate vicinity. 
    
    It was fun guessing who each one could be, some of 
    
    them easier than others.
    
    I spent the rest of the time forming a plan. I was 
    
    going to go away. There was no way I was going to stay in 
    
    Knothole; I just didn't fit anymore. By the end of the day, 
    
    I'd worked it all out and was ready to put it into action. 
    
    I crept to the edge of the village at nightfall, moving 
    
    more quietly than I had ever done before. I allowed Tails 
    
    to come with me, as far as the tree line border of the 
    
    Great Forest.
    
    When I reached the edge, I turned to him. "So... 
    
    goodbye then Tails."
    
    "Will you ever come back?" he asked, looking 
    
    pretty miserable.
    
    "Perhaps. To see you." I added the emphasis on 
    
    the you, so that he'd know I meant him and not the 
    
    whole village. "And maybe Slasher." I almost added 
    
    "And the next time we meet, we may be on different 
    
    sides" but decided against it. There were some 
    
    things I was not going to tell Tails. Not now anyway.
    
    "Oh. Okay then."
    
    "Do you think you could wait until morning, then 
    
    go and tell Slasher I've gone and that I said thanks to 
    
    her for all that she's done. And..."
    
    "Yes?"
    
    "Tell Sonic... tell him that I said sorry."
    
    I gave him a quick reassuring smile, then left, walking 
    
    at a quick pace into the forest. Now I had a purpose. I 
    
    knew exactly what I was going to do. I was going to go 
    
    and see if I could find the other Mecha bots, to see if 
    
    I could join forces with them. I'd also got an idea that 
    
    might make them change their views if they didn't want to.
    
    "The future's bright," I said aloud. Then, unable to 
    
    resist it, I added: "The future's orange." Then, humming 
    
    under my breath, I headed away from Knothole, in the 
    
    direction of Sapphire City.
    
     
    
    The End (or is it?)


End file.
